The Wire with Castor

Recently, Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon, met with India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, in Delhi to discuss a variety of different topics. Notably, Modi alleged there has been ‘anti-India activities by some illegal elements’ in Aotearoa.

Many believe Modi’s statements refer to the Khalistan movement in Aotearoa; a movement aiming to establish an independent homeland for Sikhs in India.

More specifically, many believe Modi is referring to the Khalistan ‘referendum’ in Auckland in November last year.

News and Editorial Director, Joel, spoke to an activist with the Aotearoa Alliance of Progressive Indians, Sapna Samant, about these allegations by Modi and how she believes his criticisms are more to do with the anti-Hindutva, or anti-Hindu-nationalism, movement in Aotearoa.

They started off by asking her about the Khalistan movement in New Zealand.

Auckland Council's Community Committee has recently reported a 53% rise in rough sleeping over four months, with the data showing the number of people known to be living in cars, parks, or on the streets has risen from 426 in September 2024 to 653 in January 2025.

Kickback, a youth development and social justice community responding to youth homelessness, is calling for an urgent review of The Ministry of Social Development's approach to homelessness.

Producer Amani spoke with General Manager Aaron Hendry about why it is calling for a review and which suggestions it has for the public service department.

As previously discussed, New Zealand First leader, Winston Peters, has proposed a new member’s bill to be placed in the ballot, aiming to remove diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI, targets in the public sector.

This bill would amend the Public Service Act, which Peters, and NZ First, voted for when in a coalition government with the Labour Party in 2020.

DEI refers to frameworks that aim to equitably represent certain individuals and communities not represented as much as other demographics in the country.

The reception for this bill varies between the parties. Senior National MP, Chris Bishop, says if the bill were to be pulled out of the ballot, that the party would consider the bill, as they believe in “meritocracy,” however, would want a “public service that is reflective of modern New Zealand”.

Opposition Leader from the Labour Party, Chris Hipkins, says he would want a public sector that represents all New Zealanders.

News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to the National Secretary of the Public Service Association, Fleur Fitzsimons, about Peter’s members bill, and how she believes this will impact the public sector.

They started off by asking how DEI targets work regarding the public sector.

The government has recently removed Relationships and Sexuality Education, or RSE, guidelines in schools without implementing a clear alternative.

The RSE guidelines were changed in 2020, to better support, and include updates to the the 2007 curriculum for primary and secondary school students, on topics such as the prominence of social media, bullying and cyber-bullying, and consent, in an age-appropriate manner.

With the removal of the 2020 guidelines, many educators are wondering how they adequately cover the topics covered in RSE.

As well as this, concerns have been raised about whether a move like this will impact the mental health of students, especially from minority communities, such as the LGBTQIA+ community.

News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to the Chief Executive of the Mental Health Foundation New Zealand, Shaun Robinson, about the removal of RSE guidelines without the government clearly indicating to an alternative, and the organisations concerns regarding these developments.

They started off by asking him what RSE is.